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HURLBURT FIELD, Fla.-- (AFNS) -- Lt. Dan, as Forrest Gump film
actor Gary Sinise is affectionately known, may not actually be a
member of the military, but he treats each service member he meets
with the deep-seated respect that should be given to a
brother-in-arms.
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U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Christofer
Curtis, a CV-22 flight engineer of the 8th Special Operations
Squadron, and his family meet Gary Sinise after the Lt. Dan Band
performed a concert for Hurlburt Airmen, family and guests on the
flight line at Hurlburt Field, Fla., Feb. 9, 2013. Curtis had
previously met Sinise in the hospital while Curtis recovered from
injuries sustained during a deployment. (U.S. Air Force photo by
Airman 1st Class Naomi M. Griego)
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For Hurlburt Field's Tech. Sgt. Christofer Curtis,
a CV-22 flight engineer of 8th Special Operations Squadron,
Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band's February visit was more than a
good time to at a concert. It was a full circle moment in
Curtis' journey towards recovery after suffering injuries,
including 17 broken bones, in an aircraft crash in
Afghanistan during a 2010 deployment.
"We met in the
hospital when he had been injured and we ran into each other
again when I did another visit three or four months later," Sinise said in
describing meeting Curtis at Walter Reed National Military
Medical Center. "Now he's here [at Hurlburt] and we're
really happy he's back."
With a daunting recovery
ahead of him and the need to relearn how to walk, Curtis
latched onto any support he could receive.
"I was in
for the long haul, not just being reconstructed physically
but also mentally," Curtis said. "I believe the first time [Sinise]
was there I was still waiting to bury my aircraft commander
and there were a lot of emotions at the time. I can remember
back then I was just a mess, but the thing that really kept
[me together] was the support from Air Force Special
Operations Command, my family of course, my close friends
and folks like Gary Sinise."
While a short visit to
the hospital room of a wounded warrior may seem like a minor
contribution in comparison to the sacrifice of an Airman
injured in combat, for Curtis, the visits reminded him that
his sacrifice was honored.
"[Sinise] truly cares for
those that defend this nation, and continues to do so,"
Curtis said. "It's one thing to talk about support but to
act and do something continually is the true mark of a
patriot. That constant time and presence he volunteers to
our service members and their families is amazing."
Though Sinise began his work with veterans years before his
role as Lt. Dan, once he portrayed an amputee veteran he
began to gain insight into the struggles of wounded
warriors.
"Then I started interacting with people
like [the character] Lt. Dan and Chris, and getting to know
people who have been hurt and are trying to come back,"
Sinise said. "The spirit of someone like Chris, people who
just come back from injuries, they're all over the place.
You probably go through those days like Lt. Dan did in the
movie where he's really dark for a while and just can't get
his mind right. Then things happen that put them all in
perspective and get you going."
After coming to the
hospital to start the long road to recovery, Curtis found
himself experiencing many of the same emotions that Lt. Dan
worked through in Forrest Gump.
"Now I didn't lose my
legs and get out of the military, but I certainly could have
chosen to get out and learning how to walk again was no
picnic," Curtis said. "My destiny was to be 6 feet tall and
an AFSOC-sharpened weapon or 6 feet under with my fallen
crew members. I felt as if I had been stuck in the middle
and it took me a long time to finally figure out that
there's always something to live for and never give up on a
purpose to live."
Bolstering the morale of service
members, whether they are deployed overseas or recovering
after being wounded in combat, is a key goal of Sinise's Lt.
Dan Band. For Sinise, honoring the troops is a natural place
to direct his attention and talents.
"I just have a
lot of respect for people that decide to do this, to take
this course with their life, public service," Sinise said.
"What would we do as a country if we had nobody who wanted
to raise their hand and join our service? Well, then we'd
have to have a mandatory service so we're grateful for those
who choose this."
Curtis's recovery experience
altered his outlook on such service and on those who serve
alongside him. With the needed support and encouragement,
wounded warriors such as Curtis are able to return to duty.
"I look at those who served completely different,"
Curtis said. "It's no longer something that's just a word to
me. I always remember that today is probably someone's day
one being a wounded veteran and the impact that has on their
families and friends can be frightening. I told myself that
if there is any chance that I could continue to serve I
would do so. As with many other wounded warriors, I had
quite a bit of fight left in me. So I used that sense of
continued duty and focused it on a new mission at the time,
to get better. Now with that objective cleared, it's back to
flying."
Curtis is currently working to regain his
flight qualification status so he can return to flying
special operations missions.
By USAF Airman 1st Class Michelle Vickers
1st Special
Operations Wing Public Affairs
Air Force News Service
Copyright 2013
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